Azure Minerals Encounters High-Grades in Oposura Central Zone
THE DRILL SERGEANT: Azure Minerals (ASX: AZS) intersected high-grade zinc, lead and silver mineralisation while drilling the Central Zone at the company’s 100 per cent-owned Oposura project, located in Sonora, Mexico.
Azure Minerals said it had encountered several mineralised intersections situated in the middle of the Central Zone, located more than 200 metres from the Oposura East Zone and West Zone resource boundaries.
The company considers the intersections to have confirmed potential to expand the current Oposura Mineral Resource into this previously under-explored area.
The recent drilling encountered high-grade, near-surface mineralisation in the middle of the Central Zone, including:
OPDH-173
12 metres at 7.7 per cent zinc plus lead (Zn+Pb) from 44m, including 4.1m at 12.5 per cent Zn+Pb; and
OPDH-178
9.5m at 18.9 per cent Zn+Pb from 23.05m, including 6.2m at 26.6 per cent Zn+Pb.
The drilling has also extended high-grade mineralisation from the East Zone into the Central Zone, retruning:
OPDH-159
4.8m at 19.3 per cent Zn+Pb and 122 grams per tonne silver from 107.05m;
OPDH-171
4.4m at 20.4 per cent Zn+Pb and 294g/t silver from 99.05m; and
OPDH-177
4.6m at 36.9 per cent Zn+Pb and 138g/t silver from 107.55m.
“These latest, high-grade, massive sulphide drill intersections from the sparsely drilled Central Zone confirm that this area has the potential to significantly increase Oposura’s resource base,” Azure Minerals managing director Tony Rovira said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
“They continue to build on the very positive results from the Oposura Scoping Study and confirm potential to extend the mine life and further improve the already impressive project economics.”
Azure completed additional drilling outside of the East Zone resource boundary which intersected wide zones (average true width of >4.0m) of massive sulphides containing high-grade zinc and lead mineralisation and very high silver grades, mostly >100g/t silver.
The company said these drill intercepts extended the mineralised system by more than 100m towards the west, into the Central Zone.
Acknowledging the positive results it achieved in the recent Scoping Study that identified that similar grade, near-surface mineralisation will be exploited by low-cost open pit and underground mining techniques, Azure declared these new Central Zone drill intersections are expected to increase the Mineral Resource, extend the current mine life of 5.3 years and have a very positive impact on the overall Project economics.
Website: www.azureminerals.com.au
